Device fob bending metal stbips



DEVICE FOR BENDING METAL STRIPS Filed April 11 1923 Patented Aug. 26, 1924.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM M. STI'DW'ORTHY, OF HACKETTS'EOWN, NEW JERSEY.

DEVICE FOR IBENDING METAL STRIPS.

Application filed April 11, 1923. Serial No. 631,300.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, W'ILLIAM M. STID- woR'rHY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident ofHackettstown,county of Varren, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Bending Metal Strips, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved de vice for bending metal strips at the end so as to form eyes, loops, hooks and other elements, as in leaf springs or for other purposes, the device being adapted for quick adjustment to receive strips of different thicknesses, and to hold in a firm grasp such strips, and to also allow the installation of various forms of mandrels over which the bending is performed, these changes and ad justments, due to the structure employed, being made without the use of tools.

The invention is illustrated in the accom-- panying drawing, in which Figure l is a top View of a device made according to my invention. Figure 2 is a longitudinal cen tral section of the device shown in Figure 1, with'the handles swung back to complete the bending operation. Figure 3 is a side view of the device shown in Figure 1. Figure 4 is a sectional view with the parts in posi -tion before the strip to be'bent has'been grasped by the bending part of the device. Figure 5 is a detail view of a modified form of mandrel. -Figure 6 is a detail section of a friction device for the bearing, taken on line 6 in Figure 2, and Figure 7 is a detail section of a mandrel and dog of modified form. v

The machine comprises a support, usually in the form of a table 10, and is adapted to be either made part of a workmans bench or can be provided with a depending part 11 by means of which it can be grasped in a vice similar to the device shown in my Patent No. 1,387,020, issued August 9, 1921.

The table has a flat upper portion on which the strip of metal, indicated at 12, is placed, the strip of metal being adapted to have its end bent while hot, preferably red hot, into a suitable circular or rectangular formation to form an eye or hook. The element or mandrel around which the bending is done may be of different forms, and in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive, I show a mandrel 13 which is formed on its outer face so as to define the, shape of the bend after it is accomplished, and in these figures it is shown as substantially cylindrical so that a loop or eye can be formed, the mandrel being supported by a pin 14 which passes through a hole in the mandrel and at its end is supported in bearings 15. are adjustable Vertically to provide an accurate adjustment to take different thicknesses of metal strip, but having a primary adjust ment by having more than one hole in each bearing, so that the pin 14 can be placed in one or the other of these holes.

To provide a more accurate adjustment after the rough adjustment is made, the bearings are slidable on the support, each having a stud 17 passing through the ears 18 of the support, and opposite each bearing is a friction device, in the device illustrated this comprising a screw 19, atthe end of which is a friction block, such as a spring or a solid block of rubber, shown at 20, so that the bearings can not be easily moved, but can be forcibly moved by pressing down on them with the hands, or raising them by pulling on them, or, in case of a tight fit, by the leverage of the handle to be described hereinafter.

When the bearings have been raised and the strip 12 inserted, and then the bearings lowered so as to clamp the end of the strip under the mandrel, the lock nuts 21 are spun on the screw-threaded ends 22 of the studs 17, and the bearings, with the mandrel, can not rise during the bending operation, the movement of the bearings thus being limited downward by the abutting of the bearings on the top face of the support, and upward by the nuts 21.

The bending operation is done by a lever which is made in the form of a yoke 23 pivoted by means of the ears 24 at its end so as to swing on the pin 14. The ears 24 are preferably off-set, so that when the handle is swung back so that it rests on the support 10. the bearings can be raised by means of this lever, since the offset ears 24 will be raised when the lever or handle is swung back and pressed down on the support or table 10.

For a primary adjustment the rod 25 is slidable in the head 26 of the yoke 23, sliding freely in the head, but being regulated by the nut 27 which projects through the yoke and thus can be manipulated.

The slide 28 is fastened to the end of the These bearings 15 screw-threaded part of the rod 25, being mounted to slide in the guide ways 29 in the sides of the yoke, these extending straight through the ears 24 so that these parts, if necessary, can be slid from the end of the handle in case of necessary repairs or replacement, and to permit an easy assembling of the parts.

The slide comprises a top bar 30 and a bottom bar 31, held together by the springs 32 and being kept spaced apart by the side pieces 33 which act as bearings for the pivotal pin 34 of the cam 35, which has a supplemental handle 36 secured thereto and which, when swung down, bears against the bottom bar 31, which in turn bears against the dog 37.

When the bending is to take place the handle is swung down to the position shown in Figure 4, and then the supplemental handle 36 is swung down until it assumes a position relative to the yoke, illustrated in Figure 3, and then the two handles, held together, are swung upward and over the mandrel to bend the metal around on the face of the mandrel 13. To prevent the mandrel from turning it is provided With a tail piece 38 which bears against the strip 12, as will be evident, and the mandrel is thus held in its position. Furthermore, the mandrel can be tilted by the strip 12 when it in inserted, by bending up the extremity 39 of the tail piece so that it is inclined upward and forms a tapered opening between the tail piece and the support 10.

The dog 37 can be made so that it has a convex face in making rough or substantially round eyes,but in case the eye is to be made round and true, I may use the dog shown in Figure 7, this dog 40 having a concave face to press the strip at intervals tightly in contact with the mandrel 13.

In Figure 5 I show a modified form of mandrel, this mandrel 41 having a rectangular 'part over which the bending is accomplshed, so that the metal strip can be bent, as at 42, to form a rectangular end, such as a hook. In replacing these mandrels all that is necessary to do is to withdraw the pin 14, substitute the new mandrel for the old and replace the pin.

To guide the strip and to provide'for various widths of metal, and to keep these metal strips centered, and preferably to provide a guide 43 which is adjustable laterally and against which one edge of the strip 12 bears, the adjustment is accomplished by the nut 44 on the screw-threaded end 45 of the stud 46 which is arranged on the side of the support or table 10.

The tail piece 38, with its upturned end 39, forms a ready fulcrum so that the handle 25, when swung backward to its limit of movement over the support, bears on the upturned end of the tail piece, and by pressing down on the handle 25 the bearings 15 can be raised to any limit of movement established by the adjustable nuts 21.

I claim:

1. A device for bending metal strips comprising a support for the strip, a lever mounted so as to swing, a dog on the lever,

and a mandrel at the pivot of the lever and having a tail piece to limit its rotation, said tail piece extending beyond the forming part of the mandrel. f

2. A device for bending metal strips comprising a support for the strip, a lever mounted so as to swing, a dog on the lever, and a mandrel at the pivot of the'lever and having a tail piece to limit its rotation, Said tail piece extending beyond the forming part of the mandrel, said tail piecenormally resting on the support and having its extremity inclined to cause said tail to be raised when a strip is inserted in the de vice.

3. A device for bending metal strips comprising a support, bearings on the support, a lever adapted to swing between the bearings, a frictional sliding connection between the bearings and the support, and adjustable means for limiting the sliding movement.

4. A device for bending metal strips comprising a support, a pair of spaced bearings slidablein the support, a lever supported by the bearings, a friction'block in each bearing to hold it in position, and a nut on the'boi tom of each bearing to limit its upward movement.

5. A device for bending metal. strips comprising a support, a pair of spaced bearings slidable in the support, a 'leversupp-orted by the bearings, each bearing including a stud passing through the support and having itsv bottom part screw-threaded, a nut'on each. of said threaded parts, a screw for each.

stud, said screw being adjustable in the support, and a friction block on theend of each screw and bearing on its respective stud.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereto set my hand, this 5th day of April, 1923.

WM. M. STID'WORTHY. 

